So it's not exactly shopping locally, but then it's not furthering most of the ills of globalization either. It's shopping the local designer, the small designer, in the global neighborhood. Three of my favorite websites support small scale designers, and I'd like to share them with you, so you can shop the global neighborhood too!
Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade dealer of products from all over the world. Included with each product is a description of its provenance, like this necklace from Ecuador. They deal in mostly in handmade jewelry, apparel, and household goods.
Novica, like Ten Thousand Villages, also retails handmade products from all over the world. They provide information about the individual artists as well, not simply the origin of the product, making it possible to follow favorite artists. Neeru Goel's jewelry is a favorite. I love the embroided shawls too!
Etsy, where I can correspond with designers, sometimes commissioning unique pieces, and often receiving a personalized note with my purchase. These are a few of my favorite Etsy shops.
Whimsy Whimsical has the cutest woodland creatures on all manner of stationary, including bookplates! She's based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy is everything bright and uplifting. Her shop features art prints of her original work, and other products, incorporating her artwork, like floral tape. Repairs have never been so jovial! She works out of Bend, Oregon.
My Lavaliere has retro jewelry in the art nouveau/whimsical vein. It's a great place to look for unique pieces at decent prices. My Lavaliere ships from Atlanta, Georgia.
For the romantic or steampunk, there's Art Inspired Gifts. They sell pocket watches, both on chains and as necklaces, with exposed works and filigree covers. These are beautiful pieces! The magic happens in Oroville, California.
From reading octopus bookplates to cheery animals on recipe cards and adventurous animal 'fridge magnets, boygirlparty does all things office supplies, à la San Diego, California, à la cute.
Bookplate Ink is my go-to source for bookplates, especially my beloved gnome plates. I can't recommend both their products and their service highly enough!
The Happy Hound, of Charlotte, North Carolina, produces elegant, black and white, monogrammed stationary, featuring animals, in the manner of a coat-of-arms.
You might think that Target has the corner on stylish duct tape, but your ducts have not been properly taped until you've been to The Lovely Desk. These delectable office supplies will have you performing even the most mundane of office chores with relish. The Lovely Desk ships from Manchester, United Kingdom.
Etsy shop-owners, from time-to-time, will close up shop while on vacation, or while filling orders. The Locketfox is away at present, but I would encourage you to check back with her shop again soon. She makes the loveliest of lockets.
I hope you'll take the time to visit some of my favorite shops in the global neighborhood, and I hope you'll tell me about some of yours! Also, what do you think about my hypothesis, that shopping small scale designers, globally, is roughly on an ethical par with shopping locally?
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